Recommended By Independent Booksellers

The Fifth Gospel: A Novel

by Ian Caldwell

"One of the great mysteries of the Catholic Church, The Shroud of Turin, has inspired one of the great writers of our time to create this masterful thriller. Two brothers -- Alex, a Greek Catholic priest, and Simon, a Roman Catholic priest -- are drawn into the intrigue surrounding the Shroud and the origins of the Church following the murder of their friend Ugo, an eccentric curator obsessed with the Shroud who was preparing a major exhibit in the Vatican Gallery. Alex and Simon are dedicated brothers and priests, yet as different in temperament and faith as they are similar in conviction and loyalty. Caldwell unveils much about the world behind the Vatican walls, even as the intricate plot builds to a climax.

The Buried Giant: A novel

by Kazuo Ishiguro

"Ishiguro's new novel is a work of wonder, transport, and beauty. A recurrent theme in his earlier books, always shown with great originality, is the matter of what happens after we have lost our way. In The Buried Giant, Ishiguro explores losing direction, memory, and certainty, as the primary characters cling to remnants of codes of behavior and belief. Which is the way through the forest.

Where the Dead Pause, and the Japanese Say Goodbye: A Journey

by Marie Mutsuki Mockett

"Mockett's journey begins in the wake of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, near the site of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, and encompasses a nation's grieving as well as her own. Through her beautiful descriptions of traditions, rituals, conversations, and quiet moments, she shows the nuances of a people picking up and moving on. By seeking out the cultural context of her subject's very human reactions and emotions, Mockett walks a fine line that globalization has tried to erase entirely, and our understanding of the events and their aftermath is richer for it.

Soil: A Novel

by Jamie Kornegay

"In his debut novel, Kornegay has confidently announced himself as a writer to watch. Centered around Jay Mize, an idealistic farmer whose luck just keeps breaking bad, the story kicks into high gear when Jay discovers a corpse on his failing farm. Fearing he is being framed by his less progressive neighbors, Jay hides the discovery rather than reporting it. Kornegay expertly heightens the tension, tightening the screws on the increasingly paranoid Jay in a way that makes it impossible for the reader to put the book down.

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania

by Erik Larson

"With the taut storytelling form that is Larson's trademark, Dead Wake recounts the tragedy of the sinking of the passenger ocean liner Lusitania. The torpedoing of a passenger liner by a German submarine shocked and horrified the world and served to mobilize American popular opinion in favor of entering World War I. Larson carefully sets the stage for the tragedy, and with dramatic effect recreates the tension of the chase, the horror of the attack, and the tragic aftermath. Dead Wake pulls the reader in and evokes a visceral response of outrage and sadness -- the same response most Americans had upon first hearing the news in 1915.

Welcome to Braggsville: A Novel

by T. Geronimo Johnson

"In Welcome to Braggsville, Johnson explores cultural, social, and regional diversity in a world increasingly driven by social media. His satirical and ironic style portrays a UC Berkeley -- 'Berzerkeley' -- student from Georgia who, along with his friends, goes back to his hometown to challenge an annual Southern tradition and inadvertently sets off a chain of events resulting in tragic consequences. Johnson's creative language play envelops the reader in the Deep South with the impact of a razor-sharp Lynyrd Skynyrd riff.

Leaving Berlin: A Novel

by Joseph Kanon

"In 1949, WWII has been over for four years but the world continues to fume as suspicion wages a new kind of conflict in Joe McCarthy's America and the German people starve behind a barrier that has made them victims of the Cold War. When Alex Meier returns to Berlin to attempt to 'earn' his way back to the U. S. by spying for the fledgling CIA, life quickly begins to unravel and Meier is thrown into a turmoil that he could not have imagined.

Barefoot Dogs: Stories

by Antonio Ruiz-Camacho

"What people lose defines how they live their lives and this vibrant collection of stories illustrates this point with a literary verve that is electrifying. When the patriarch of a rich and thriving Mexican family is kidnapped, the family scatters across the world to save themselves. Ruiz-Camacho focuses on the lives of the rich and privileged in Mexican society, so used to servants and having things done for them that when the Arteaga family is left to its own devices, they have difficulty coping. This is a very entertaining and moving collection of interwoven stories highlighting the profound talent of a new author.

A Little Life: A Novel

by Hanya Yanagihara

"With heartaching perfection, Yanagihara follows four college roommates through three decades of relationships, careers, struggles, and triumphs. She opens episodic windows into the worlds of JB, Malcolm, Willem, and Jude - the artist, the architect, the actor, and the lawyer. At the novel's heart is Jude, the group's emotional epicenter and its eternal mystery who is determined to keep his past hidden and to shoulder its terrible effects on the present. A Little Life is a deeply felt journey through friendship, love, trust, and hurt that immerses the reader so fully each character becomes a friend and the intricacies of their lives are sorely missed after the last page is turned.

An Exaggerated Murder: A Novel

by Josh Cook

"If Sherlock Holmes and Ignatius J. Reilly had a baby, that child would be Trike Augustine, private investigator. Rude, slobby, irritatingly brilliant, quick-witted -- that's Trike. With the help of his saner, more reasonable employees, Trike has been tasked with finding a missing billionaire, but will the stupid clues stump the smart man, or will Trike manage to keep himself and his associates out of harm's way and solve the case before it's too late.